Dark Queen
by Angelz on Edge
Summary: Who said only the Summer Court can have both a King and Queen. The Dark Court is changing, and the heart of that change is based around a familiar face. She's the new Dark Queen and she'll give no mercy. The night belongs to her. LesliexNiallxIrial
1. For Your Entertainment

"Do you like what you see?" The question needed no answer. The swaying bodies pressed into her own, their sweat mingling into one entity.

Did she like this?

A rough hand tipped her head back allowing a pair of soft, but harsh, lips to attack her own. Pain rippled though her teasingly giving her a taste of what she knew the surrounding fey could give her.

_God, yes. _ She gave a hiss of pleasure. More hands grappled at her each trying to stake a claim on her skin. They fed off of each other; the lust and aggression they each harboured only added fuel to the fire of passion that was slowly building its way into an unstoppable inferno.

"Do you know what you got into?" Another question she felt no need to respond to. Of course she did. How could she once more walk into these hallowed halls and not once think of the unthinkable sin that awaited her inside? Only the foolish stepped inside Niall's court and thought they could walk out the same as they walked in. Especially if Iri was in town, the former Dark King, temptation personified, made sure the club was full of all the emotions Niall was still too hesitant to command from his fey.

Irial had stepped into the club over half an hour ago and a flood of his former faerie had tried to coax him into the dance floor but none had succeeded. Not until _she_ entered the floor. Surely his eyes were playing tricks on him? Was it really Leslie, his Leslie, once more among her court. Even if it were true what was she doing in one of the Dark Courts Kink clubs? He moved into the throng of fey and humans alike who danced and grabbed at her. They parted to grant him access to his Shadow Girl. She turned to give him a smile full of the cunning and Otherness of the Dark Court. He swore his heart stumbled briefly.

His hand reached towards her before he thought of the consequences, he was poison to her now, deadly to touch. Her smile increased. She pressed against the nearest male body and slowly slid down him, her eyes never leaving Irial's. Her body twisted and danced to the shadows, teasing him, showing him what he could no longer have. A strong desire to find Niall and demand his court back, to lift the curse upon himself, overcame him so strongly to the point where he found himself looking franticly around the club.

_Where was his damned King?_ A brief flutter of Leslie's touch danced across his skin, like a fire barely burning flesh, leaving the pain with only the promise of pleasure. She laughed. The sound easily broke though the music filling the club.

"Niall." His near-snarl sent a ripple of murmurs though the crowd. Niall would be notified of Irial's need for him. Just as Irial caught sight of the King of Nightmares, weaving his way through the crowd, he was struck by the look of twisted pleasure residing in his Kings eyes. They flickered from Irial to Leslie and back again eagerly.

The crowd parted to allow a thin gangway to form with both the current and former Dark King standing at both ends. One more butterfly touch reached his skin before Leslie strode toward Niall, in perfect unison with the pounding beat of the music. They stared into each other's eyes, both filled with expressions of glee and anticipation.

Slowly, oh so slowly, she cast a look at Irial and leaned forward to Niall. The world stopped when her lips touched his. Irial was overcome by jealousy; the emotion was quickly stolen away by an over-eager fey. For once Irial didn't bother to snarl a warning.

He hadn't known he was moving towards his two beloveds until he found Niall, having pulled away from Leslie to watch him approach, holding out a warning hand. Keeping him from the girl he now cradled.

"Careful, _Gancanagh. _I don't want you hurting her." Amusement was laced into the threat seamlessly. Irial barely suppressed a growl.

"Watch it boy," he snapped, "Or I might just be tempted to take back my court and claim her as mine." The fey around them stopped dancing and all turned eagerly to watch their Kings. A potential challenge to the throne?

Leslie smothered a laugh by burying her face into Niall's shoulder. What was so funny?

Shadows danced around her and the fey closest to her suddenly burst into mischievous grins as if suddenly let in on a joke. A joke Irial was left out of. Niall leaned down to whisper something into her ear. She nodded, still giggling to herself.

In one languid, fluid movement she detached herself from Niall and moved to Irial swaying in the shadows as she went. Her green eyes were inches from his. With the same exaggerated slowness she'd used with Niall she leaned forward.

And kissed him. Hard.

Temptation flooded through him, he shouldn't be doing this, he should stop. She could-and would- grow addicted. He would become a drug she would never get enough of. Why would that damned king let her do this? The fool.

Irial deepened the kiss. Dark Kings, former or present, really _didn't_ resist temptation. It was as she pulled away that the glamour she'd held like a second skin fell away. Eyes with twisting shadows plummeting into a dark abyss stared back at him. Faerie? How could he not have noticed?

"Our Dark Queen, has returned." Niall's deep voice announced. At some point during the encounter the mortals had left the club. The remaining fey rejoiced.

"Dark...Queen?" Leslie flashed another grin. Irial let his earlier growl lose, "I don't like games, Niall. How could you not tell me?" Niall gave a careless shrug, reaching out to brush his hand along his Queen.

"Her idea, not mine."

"If she's no longer mortal then that means I'm-"

"Not deadly to her, quite the opposite really." Niall confirmed. Irial turned to look at Leslie, struggling to keep a harsh look off of his face.

"And you-" She placed a finger against his lips, cutting him off.

"Does it matter now Iri, I'm here now. For your entertainment." She wasn't the one to start the kiss this time.

Irial didn't like to be played for the fool. She'd pay, both his King and newly made Queen would, but for now, while they were in public, he'd play her angel. Soft and Sweet. Later? Later, she'd see how wrong that image was.


	2. Let the games begin

**Angelz: Well, originally I wasn't planning to do a chapter two to this story. Truth be told I wasn't even planning to do a chapter one! I was doing my usual 'late night writing session while listening to my song-of-the-moment' when I got the idea from some of the lyrics of 'For Your Entertainment' (Adam Lambert. .Song.) mainly : 'Do you know what you got into', 'do you like what you see' and, of course, 'take the pain, take the pleasure I'm the master of both.' I didn't want to do a fanfiction, I was intending to use some of my own characters, when suddenly I found Iri's name crop up followed by Niall's and by that point I thought 'screw it' and wrote a Wicked Lovely fanfiction. I've always wondered why the Summer court was the only court to have both a King AND a Queen. So that coupled with the idea from the song resulted in me finally getting the motivation to write the damn story I've been pondering for a while now, plus I've noticed that there's not an awful lot of fanfiction out there based around, in my opinion, the best threesome of the whole WL series; Leslie, Niall and Irial. Enjoy.**

A lazy shadow swirled sedately in the air, following Leslie's fingers as she trailed them down Irial's bare chest. She sighed contentedly.

"Where'd Niall go?" She murmured. Irial took a slow drag on his cigarette and watched the smoke mingle with Leslie's shadows. His queen loved her shadows.

"To take care of business. Some of the Summer Fey got in a fight with ours." She opened one eye at him in surprise.

"I thought the Summer Court were too weak to start a fight with us." He flashed a cunning smile.

"I never said they _started_ the fight, did I Love?" She laughed, allowing a taste of the Court's nature to seep into the sound. She'd been Queen for only a few weeks but so far she'd taken to the role as a bird took to flight. Sometimes, Irial wondered about the savage look he'd see flash across her face whenever she joined her fey as they played with their mortal toys. How could he not have noticed this primal side to her when she was human? It seemed such an impossible thing to miss.

"I feel like going out today. I still haven't visited the Crow's Nest yet." She paused thoughtfully for a moment, "I feel like dancing." When Irial gave no reply she tilted her head up to meet his gaze, "You want to come along?"

"Sure, later though. It's still early. Let's kill some time first." He leaned down to kiss her. Who was it who had told her about Iri's stamina? Cerise. She defiantly knew what she was talking about.

With a mock-annoyed sigh Leslie mumbled against his lips, "Impatient boy. Spoilt all your life." She felt his grin.

"True." With that statement confirmed they both became lost in each other and the twisting shadows around them.

* * *

"Up. Now." Leslie's vision was blurred as she opened her eyes, her mind still full of the hazy dream-land she'd been in only moments before. Her whole mind seemed glazed over. Niall stood over her, a strong look of annoyance graced his face. One quick taste of his emotions told Leslie he was more jealous than anything else. It tasted of dark chocolate laced with a subtle blend of mint and something hot, spicy. She licked her lips, savouring the flavour.

"Why?" She gave a cat-like stretch, "I was enjoying myself." For a brief moment it looked like he rolled his eyes.

"I can see that." He said dryly. His eyes drifted over to Irial, who was led down beside her, contentedly lighting another cigarette from his never-ending supply. He gave a slow smile.

"You could always join us," He paused for a moment before adding, "again, I mean." Niall turned from the bed, placing his back against them to hide the slight flush of his cheeks.

God knew how tempting _that_ offer was. Especially after the last time.

"Just get dressed and meet me outside. It's about time you two re-joined the outside world again." He waited a moment, prepared to listen to any objections, before walking out of the room.

Leslie and Irial shared a look.

"He's so stubborn." Irial sighed.

"Sadly, my Dear, it's his strongest feature." He slipped out of the bed, "but we better do what he asks. Wouldn't want to upset him, now do we?"

"Heaven forbid." They both laughed.

"Exactly, Love. Now, what would it take to get you into that black dress I like, Mm?"

* * *

Half an hour later Leslie, Niall and Irial were walking through the familiar streets of Huntsdale along the familiar route that led to the Crow's Nest. The sun had dipped behind the surrounding buildings, casting shadows across the dimly lit streets. They swayed towards the trio as they passed by.

As they turned into Crofter Avenue a thrill ran through Leslie. Tonight belonged to her, her court, and, of course, her Kings. As they approached the front of the club they allowed their glamour to fade and become invisible. Leslie couldn't resist the temptation to pinch the bouncer on the way in.

Inside, the club was filled with dancing bodies; a mix of mortal and fey. This was the first public appearance of the new Dark Queen and the fey of the other courts all turned eagerly to get at look at her. Leslie's eyes dilated as she drank in the raw shock that flooded the room.

"But that's Leslie-"

"The Summer Queen's friend-"

" I thought she left town-"

"Does Keenan know?"

She let out a soft moan at the pure ecstasy at the emotions filtering through her. Beside her Irial and Niall shared an equally drunk-on-pleasure look. The Dark Court fey in the club glided over to their regents.

"Thank God you're here. Things were getting boring." Leslie tilted here head to look at one of the approaching Dark fey. Cerise. The slight movement of her head struck Irial as oddly avian, a stark reminder of another Faerie he knew. Just as he turned to voice his thoughts to Niall, the Dark King reached out to take Cerise's wrist and twirl her to towards him. He leaned down to whisper something in her ear, they both glanced at Irial, she nodded and swiftly moved over to him.

"I haven't seen you in a while. I've missed you." Her voice was liquid seduction as she slipped her arms around his waist. "How about you make it up to me?" Irial never once let his gaze waver from Niall. He knew when he was being distracted; the only thing he didn't know was _why _and from_ what. _In one swift movement he span her around so she was flush against his chest. His eyes blazed with the shadows and abysses he hadn't possessed since his Kingship.

"First, how about you tell me what Niall just told you to do." He allowed a threat to seep into his voice, in no mood for petty seduction. Cerise wasn't easily swayed, she tilted her head up to his and unflinchingly kissed him. He allowed her a few moments before peeling her body away from his.

"I'll take that as a 'No'." He pushed her to the side and strode toward Niall. Before he got there a ripple of mixed emotions ran through the room, followed by the verbal follow up. Leslie turned to face him with an eager, almost manic, smile on her face.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, the Summer King and Queen have arrived."

She could hardly wait for the feast of emotions, none of them pleasant, that were about to come her way. Aislinn had been her friend during her mortal life, but once she'd taken the Summer crown something had changed. She'd kept things from Leslie, and although she'd never admit it, she'd placed her court before her mortal friends. Now, it was Leslie's turn.

Let the games begin.


	3. Eliza

**Angelz: oh hell! Snap! I didn't just update this before I said I would! ^^ hehe. Yeah consider yourself lucky, I should be revising for my physics exam but instead I spent the day writing this. The last little bit (you'll know it once you read it!) was going to be the next chapter but I decided to tack it on the end of this one to give you a taste of what's going to happen in later on. Also, isn't anyone wondering exactly **_**how**_** Leslie managed to become Faerie? No? If you are then leave a review saying how you think she managed to pull it off, I have given a massive hint in the chapters so far. (it's not that hard to guess but hey, I thought of it so it's nothing too complex XD) but you will find out in the next chapter...**

Sunlight met shadows in a fierce lock of power, twisting together seamlessly as they battled for supremacy. Leslie could see Keenan and Aislinn enter the club; their eyes were drawn instantly to her although she saw Keenan's gaze flick over Niall and Irial almost looking bored and uninterested. It was clear that if it were up to him he wouldn't have turned up here so soon, and if he did it would be out of pure business intentions. After all, if there was a new Dark Queen he needed to know how that would affect his own court, she could be a much less patient ruler than Niall and _that_ would a problem. The Dark Court was wild enough without a ruler who openly encouraged their actions.

"Leslie...no." Aislinn's breath came as a weak gasp, as if she couldn't suck in enough air to pronounce the words. Keenan reached out, almost absently, to place a hand on her shoulder and allowed a flow of sunlight into her and loop back around to him like a never-ending circuit.

"It's okay, Ash." He murmured. Leslie flashed a vicious smile. Already she could taste the bittersweet horror that crept into the room; the Summer Queen's emotions tasted sweet like thick honey dripping lazily onto a bowl of vanilla ice-cream left melting in the sun. Mouth watering.

"No, it's not. I never wanted this, she's meant to be free from this." Aislinn began to walk towards Leslie with an expression bordering on desperate, "Leslie, what have you done? Don't do this, please."

Leslie waited until she'd crossed half of the room until she walked towards her, crossing the remaining distance. The two queens stared at each other for a few tense moments. Around them the club had fell silent even the mortals in the room were shifting uneasily at the sudden tense atmosphere, the Dark fey watched eagerly as the Summer fey moved closer to their regents.

Leslie gave another oddly avian tilt of her head and lifted a hand towards one of the Summer girls who had come to stand beside her Queen. Eliza.

"Come here." Eliza hesitated, stuck between staying by her Queen's side and the soft coaxing voice Leslie had used. After a few seconds she made her choice.

She moved towards Leslie.

Aislinn did nothing to stop her; it was Keenan who moved towards Eliza fearing that the Dark Queen would lash out. The look in Leslie's eyes unsettled him, the abyss that was usually reserved for Irial and Niall danced brightly in her eyes accompanied with a barely suppressed savageness that featured in children's nightmares.

"Eliza, do you think your queen is in any position to question my actions?" Leslie asked. Eliza hesitated for a moment, watching her king moving towards them with inhuman speed. He wasn't quick enough.

In a blinding movement Leslie threw her hand into Eliza's stomach, clutching a dagger with a blade so dark it rivalled the night sky. It sliced through her like she wasn't there. Eliza's mouth gapped open, in enough shock that she didn't yet felt the pain from the blow.

"I don't think she is." Leslie hissed. She pulled the knife back and watched as the crimson liquid glistened in the lighting. A blur to the right of her caught her attention. Irial had moved to block Keenan's pathway to Leslie.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Kingling." He warned, "Don't start a fight you cannot win."

"Learn to keep your queen under control and we won't need to start fights." Keenan snarled. Irial gave a laugh.

"Those are tough words. Maybe you'd like to back them up."

"Irial." Niall's voice was neither a shout or in normal tones. Irial pulled his gaze from Keenan to look at his king, "Leave him alone. This is between our queen and his. If he fails to see that, well, it just begs the question of whether he deserves to be king." Irial nodded reluctantly and stepped back, still standing close to Leslie, and let his gaze stay locked on Keenan.

Niall made a noise at the back of his throat that passed for a smothered laugh. "Nice try, stand next to me. If Keenan doesn't get to intervene then neither do you." Irial flicked a reluctant look at his king but silently came to stand next to him, a few feet behind Leslie. Keenan watched Niall uneasily, why was the Dark King willing to let his queen work on her own?

"You've struck out at my court, why should I stay out of it?" Niall shook his head, fighting a smile. He gave no answer.

Aislinn slowly came out of the shock of Leslie's attack and moved forward to catch Eliza as she stumbled back, her hand clutching her stomach. There was a blur of activity as the Summer fey moved forward and took Eliza from Aislinn, within moments the bleeding girl was taken away from the club and hopefully away from danger.

Aislinn's mouth opened and closed, no words came to her. What could she say? Her once-best-friend had attacked her Court and now stood before her with a pleased smile on her face.

"Don't think you can dictate to me, Aislinn. I've chosen my own fate." She took a few steps closer and hid a smile when Aislinn flinched, Leslie dropped her voice to a low, hushed tone, "we used to be friends, and I get that, but just because we were friends in the past doesn't mean I'm going to be the same girl now. We belong in two different worlds." She turned away from Aislinn and looked towards Niall.

"I don't feel like dancing anymore. Let's go home; we can always burn off some energy there." She flashed a grin and started to move towards the exit.

"Leslie!" Aislinn's voice sent a wave of desert heat blasting towards her; she turned around and saw Aislinn stood determinedly in the centre of the club, her fey surrounding her. "Don't think that I'll bow down to you. Never threaten my court again. Never."

A reluctant smile tugged at Leslie's lips. Stood there now, Aislinn looked every bit a Summer Queen not to be messed with. Her hair whipped around her head as a summer storm slowly built in the room, the harsh warm wind buffeted against Leslie causing her to stumble back a few steps.

"It looks like we understand each other." Leslie bowed her head in a respectful nod, "until we next cross paths." She turned and left the furious Summer Queen to be consoled by her King.

* * *

Leslie walked along the late dusk street; the air was frigid and felt oddly calming on her skin. Behind her Niall and Irial talked in hushed tones, glancing up at her every so often. Finally she had enough. With a sigh she stopped walking and turned to face them.

"Do you two old ladies want to tell me what you're gossiping about?" She tilted her head to the side and watched as they both glanced at each other. Finally Niall spoke.

"You can't do that Leslie. Go around attacking other court fey like that. Next time Keenan won't back down without retaliating." She rolled her eyes and started to talk but he cut her off.

"Niall I-"

"No, Leslie! I won't go risking war between the Courts just because you feel like indulging in childish games."

"Childish games! I didn't want her to think that we'd all be friends, how else was I meant to show her that? Iri tell him-" Irial shook his head.

"He's right, Leslie. That could have gotten dangerous. We were in no position to start a fight in there." She stood there staring at Irial in shock. Surely he would agree with her?

"Fine, next time I won't go around stabbing people, happy now?" Niall raised an eyebrow.

"Leslie, we're not trying to attack you. Just be careful." He moved within inches of her, "I've just found you again, don't give anybody a reason to take you away again." He brushed his lips against hers gently; she sighed and leaned into him. Her King.

Irial gave a cough, "I don't mean to ruin the moment but we have a guest." He inclined his head to the small alley to the right of them. A familiar face stood there, one pierced eyebrow quirked in a silent question. Leslie turned to face him.

"Seth?"


	4. Mother and Daughter

**Angelz: Well, thanks for all being patient! I've now finished school and have all the time in the world to update this story. Well...until college starts anyways. XD So I hope you like this chapter, it ends on a bit of a cliff-hanger I'm afraid (I love cliff-hangers!) I've also decided on what I want to happen in this story, so I now have a point to work towards! Yay for plot! Also, I'd really love it if you could check out my new Wicked Lovely Story (just a oneshot) called : Names. Hopefully the next chapter will be up sometime next week. Enjoy. **

Seth nodded a greeting to Niall whilst eyeing Irial wearily. Leslie glanced at Irial to find him staring boredly down the street; clearly the former Dark King wasn't in the mood to deal with Sorcha's obsession, Seth.

"What do need, Seth?" Niall asked.

"I saw some of the Summer Girls escorting Eliza back to the loft, she was injured." He waited expectantly for one of the trio to explain and when he was given no answer he glanced at Leslie, "they told me the new Dark Queen attacked her." Leslie hid a smile.

"I don't see how that concerns you. What the Dark Court does is none of your business." Niall gave a sidelong look at Irial.

"He's brother to the Dark Court, he has a right to ask questions." Irial scoffed.

"Who says he's brother?"

"Niall, he calls my nephew brother." Horror struck through Leslie, her mind blurred to an almost painful pleasure as the soft hunter's pad of Bananach's feet drew closer. She stumbled back, trying to avoid the decreasing distance between herself and War.

Arms wrapped themselves around her stopping her from moving anymore. Leslie glanced up to meet Irial's black eyes; one eyebrow was raised in silent question. She let out a whimper as the pressure inside her head increased, reality seemed to blur beyond recognition as Bananach's voice pierced through her thoughts.

"My_ King_," she said the words mockingly, barely keeping a laugh from her voice, " how pleasant to see you here." A _clack_ followed as she snapped her teeth together in a twisted smile. Her eyes searched the street eagerly until they rested on Leslie. A shudder ran through her.

"I see you're hiding someone. Cowering against the Former King are we, pet?" Niall whipped around to face Leslie, the fiercely protective look on his face sent a wave of giddy pleasure through her, he was her King, her protector. The tense stance relaxed slightly when he saw that she was safely in Irial's arms.

"Stay away from Leslie, she's your Queen. Respect that." Irial's voice held a note of menace. A laugh that resembled a crow's caw slipped through Bananach's lips.

"She isn't merely my Queen, you naive fool. I hel-" she gave a strangled choke as Niall's hand closed around her throat, cutting off the rest of her words. Leslie hadn't even seen him move. Thank God he had, if Bananach had finished that sentence...

Irial twitched slightly and cast a curious look at Niall. His King was acting strangely violent.

_The world must be ending; Niall could almost pass for the Dark King._ Irial's internal monologue took on a dry tone, _well, providing the world ended very slowly. _

What was Bananach going to say? For the War-faerie to even admit that she had a King or Queen was a near-impossible feat but for her to be willing to carry on the discussion was something Irial had never accomplished during his reign.

"I suggest you walk away, say one more word and it could easily be your last." Niall warned his voice dropping to a low threat that sounded strangely intimate. Bananach watched him intently for a few tense moments before pulling away from Niall's grasp, he let her go. She turned to lock gazes with Leslie.

The world swayed and blurred as Bananach stared at her. Her eyes were strangely focused, Bananach never looked focused. When War set her sights on something it was never a good thing. Irial's arms tightened around Leslie, keeping her knees from buckling under the weight of herself.

"Easy, there girl." Irial murmured. A wave of worry began to rise in him, only to be greedily taken away by Leslie. She seemed to be franticly grasping any thread of emotion to try and stabilize herself. She turned to face him and was baffled when she saw only a solid wall of shadows, all shifting and merging into each other.

"He can't protect you now, Pet."

"I don't need protecting." Leslie turned to face Bananach and realized she wasn't going to escape so she sighed and focused on keeping her hold on reality, "what do you want?"

"That's no way to address me, is it?" Bananach sounded lucid, something she rarely was, and that fact alone worried Leslie.

"You're hardly someone who I'd listen to for advice on addressing people." Leslie said dryly. She leant against the shadow wall that blocked her from Irial and Niall.

_Where had Seth gone_? She wondered idly. Her mind followed that train of thought for a few moments before jumping to a new topic, _was there chaos at the Crow's Nest? Were the other courts afraid of her? _

"You're losing it." Leslie was snapped back into the present. Bananach looked pleased with herself, "reality is blurring is it not, my daughter? You're finding it hard to focus on what goes on around you."

"I'm fine. Don't call me that."

"Call you what?" If she didn't know any better Leslie would have said that Bananach widened her eyes in mock innocence. War certainly was being oddly playful today...

"Daughter."

"But is that not what you are? I helped create you, made you into the strong fey you are. You are my creation."

"I am your Queen. If you think that you hold sway over me then you're sorely mistaken." A chuckle escaped from Bananach's lips.

"Am I, Daughter? Do you think I would have changed you if I didn't expect something in return?"

"And what would that be?" The shadows behind Leslie shifted. Four tendrils snaked out of the wall and wrapped themselves around her wrists and ankles, preventing her from moving.

_How can she do that?_ The shadows only obeyed the King and Queen of the Dark Court, and, of course, Irial. The former King hadn't lost many of the perks of being King, something Niall was baffled over and yet didn't seem to mind.

"My Court." Bananach lurched towards her.

Leslie's world turned black.

* * *

"Where is she?" Niall paced restlessly across the street, occasionally glancing at the ever-shifting globe of shadows that occupied the center of the space. Inside, his Queen, Leslie, was trapped with the bane of his existence; Bananach.

"Patience, Love. She'll be fine; our girl knows how to look after herself." Irial lounged against a wall across the street from his King. Opposite him stood Seth, eyeing Niall with a barely contained curiosity in his eyes.

"Who's stronger, Leslie or Bananach?" He asked. Irial's eyes flashed a deadly black.

"That's really none of your business." He snapped, "Niall, why you favour this _nuisance _is beyond me."

"He's a brother. That's all you need to know." Niall murmured distractedly, something was happening inside the shadows. He stepped towards it and lay his hand on the solid mass. Once again, he tried to manipulate them, to get them to obey him as he knew they should. A growl rumbled through his chest as nothing happened.

Suddenly warmth moved behind him, Irial leaned so his mouth was touching Niall's ear, his arm snaked around his waist and pulled his King into his chest. Niall sighed and relaxed into the embrace.

"Calm down, Love. The more flustered you get the less likely you are to achieve your goal." Niall mumbled vague words of agreement as Irial's lips trailed away from his ear and down his neck, barely brushing against his skin. He could feel the Smirk on his lips as the moved down to kissing Niall's shoulder, Irial brought his one free hand up to pull Niall's shirt off of his shoulder, exposing more skin.

"Are you going to relax now, Mm?" Niall nodded, leaning his head back onto Irial's shoulder, "Good." Irial stepped away from Niall teasingly, the Dark King groaned at the loss of contact. Irial flashed a grin and wondered back over to his wall to lean on.

Seth had turned his attention away from the affection between to two Kings and stared at the globe of shadows. _What was going on in there?_ _And did Irial know that Bananach had changed Leslie? _Niall had cut off the War faerie when she's hinted of her involvement in Leslie's change so it was a safe bet to say that Niall hadn't clued Irial in.

"Something's happening." Seth turned towards Niall's voice and found both him and Irial stood rigid; tense. Responding to something that Seth couldn't detect. Only moments later the shadows surrounding the Dark Queen dissipated, slowly swirling away like a lethargic fog. When the shadows cleared fully Seth could see what had become of the Queen.

Niall and Irial's voices rang out in unison, "Leslie!"


	5. Losing herself

**Angelz: Right sorry for the lateness for this chapter. It's been really hot here in the UK (hot for us anyways) and sitting with a boiling hot laptop on my lap as I wrote wasn't exactly appealing. That and the heat makes me lazy, I'm someone who hates hot weather. I live in England for a reason; and it isn't for the nice weather. Anyways, I'm not really happy with the chapter but it was either put it up with me not 100 per cent happy and update today or tweak it but not update until Friday. I've got a college introduction day tomorrow so I'm pretty nervous as it is. Probably why I couldn't really focus on writing this chapter..wish me luck**

**This chapter is dedicated to: DarkRedRoses. Hope you have a fantastic Birthday! (Enjoy your cake, whatever you decide to make ;p ) Everybody else: Check out her stories, all of them are fantastic and involve the awesome couple that is Niall and Iri. **

There was a blur of action as both Niall and Irial dived towards Leslie. She stood, head bowed down, hiding her face and expression. Just as her two beloveds closed in on them Leslie held out a hand, stopping them in their tracks. Fine tremors ran through her body, tiny shakes that made it unclear whether she was crying or laughing.

"Leslie?" Niall sounded cautious, unsure of the heavy silence that hung in the air. Neither Bananach nor Leslie moved or said anything; the War faerie was watching her Queen with a clear, focused expression looking thoughtful. It was an unnerving look on her.

"Mm?" A breath of relief left both Irial and Niall, she sounded okay; a little shaken but okay.

"Come here, Love." Niall held out his hand, Leslie slowly turned and looked up at him. Her eyes were a vivid black, plummeting shadows filled every speck of her iris. She cocked her head to the side, "Leslie, come to me."

Slowly she put one foot in front of the other and made her way towards Niall. She covered the distance between them and came to stand next to her king. He slipped an arm around her waist and guided her behind him, into Irial's awaiting arms. Never once did he allow himself to take his gaze from Bananach.

"Stay away from her." He warned, taking a step forward and letting the abyss guardians leap into life; hissing and glaring at the war faerie. For a brief moment Bananach flinched, a movement Niall had never seen her do. She nodded and grudgingly turned away, with one lingering look at Leslie, Niall and Irial.

As Bananach walked away Seth noticed the shadows leaning towards her as she passed by. The odd look in her eyes hadn't escaped him, something had happened in the globe and it was clear that whatever it was had affected the two women.

Before anyone noticed Seth quietly slipped into the shadows; leaving the three Fey to themselves. After all, Seth needed to make sure that Aislinn was okay after the attack on Eliza. Later he would meditate and allow himself to see the threads of possibilities he'd been able to see ever since becoming faerie. Maybe he'd be able to see something in Leslie's future that would give away any lasting effects from her encounter with Bananach.

It took only a few moments for Seth to reach the Crow's Nest, where he hoped Aislinn still remained. As he entered the club a heavy sense of panic hit him; it hung in the air like an almost tangible thing. Summer Court fey darted around the club, weaving in and out of the crowd of humans who remained. Seth soon found Aislinn in the back corner of the room with Keenan and a throng of their fey surrounding her. Her eyes latched onto Seth and he couldn't ignore the spark that leaped into them. As long as she looked at him like that, as long as she needed Seth to be by her side, he would always be there when she called.

"Seth." Her voice was barely a whimper as she folded herself into his arms, "Leslie, she s-stabbed her." Her voice choked off into tears. Seth hadn't seen her like this before, Aislinn, _his_ Aislinn was strong. He hadn't ever seen her break down like this before.

Keenan stood behind his Queen and gave Seth a look across Aislinn's shoulder. That look told Seth all he needed to know.

The Summer King was furious. His Queen had been hurt and now he wanted revenge.

This couldn't be good.

* * *

"Does Leslie seem different to you?" Irial glanced up at the door as Niall entered the room. The Dark King didn't come to sit on the sofa next to Irial, like the former king expected, he started to restlessly pace across the length of the room. Irial raised an eyebrow and motioned to the seat next to him.

"Stop worrying and come sit." Niall let out an exasperated sigh and gave him a long look.

"Leslie." He murmured as he came to sit down, "Something's wrong with Leslie."

"I know." The simple truth of the words set a heavy mood in the air. The two fey sat in silence for a few moments before Irial spoke again, "Bananach has also been acting _strange. _I'd be lying if I said that that didn't worry me." He blew out long breath.

"What do we do?" Niall questioned. Irial shrugged.

"Ask her what happened? Force her to tell us if she refuses? I truly don't know, Niall. Leslie has always been her own person and if she doesn't want to do something she won't. She might not tell us." The pair stared at each other for a few more moments.

Irial stood up and held out a hand to his king. "Come on, we're not going to find out what's wrong if we sit in here and mope around." He gave a dazzling smile, "let's go find our Queen."

* * *

Throbbing music greeted the two Kings as they opened the double, dark oak doors that led into Leslie's domain. The Queen had claimed the east wing of the building the Dark Court used as its headquarters. The large rectangular room was robbed of any natural light only the flashing disco lights gave any glimpse into the dancing fey inside. Irial gave a reluctant laugh,

"I'll give her this; she knows how to keep the court entertained." Niall gave him a dry look but couldn't help but let a smile pull at his lips, with a roll of his eyes he stepped into the room.

With the doors shut the throbbing of the music became a pounding beat that slammed into them as they weaved through the crowd and started to search for Leslie. After a few minutes of searching they regrouped.

"I can't see her." Niall had to raise his voice in order to be heard over to noise of the make-shift club. Irial shook his head, frowning, and continued to glance around the room.

"It's too dark." He muttered. Niall started to ask him to speak louder. Irial waved his words away. Something had caught his eye, in the middle of the room a crowd had gathered in a large circle. The fey all babbled excitedly and nudged each other eagerly. In simultaneous agreement Niall and Irial made their way towards the thong of fey.

The circle parted; allowing them access to the inner ring. Stood there, centre stage, was Leslie. A fierce glint was present in her eyes as she focused her attention on the three figures who also occupied the centre of the circle. Two were Dark Court fey, nothing out of the ordinary, but the third figure wasn't faerie.

When Irial had ruled the court he'd had no problem with his fey taking humans as pets or play things, however, when Niall took control he had limited the court's freedom when it came to humans. He still allowed them to take humans as their own but there were strict rules on how far they were allowed to go until they broke them.

Leslie, his queen, stood in front of the two fey who held between them a human, one who held a crazed look in his eyes as he franticly tried to edge closer to Leslie. A frantic look of pleasure bordering on insanity crossed her face as she motioned for the two fey to release the human. He dived for Leslie, she laughed and side stepped him and once more let the two fey capture him.

Niall could taste the sickly sweet lust that poured off of the human. The sharp tang of desperation only enhanced the appeal of his emotions. It was clear that she'd been tormenting him for a while.

"Leslie." She turned almost lazily to face him. A defiant tilt of her head warned Niall that she still wasn't herself, the satisfied look in her eyes turned to a harsh, cold look. She's never looked at him like that, at least, not until after the incident with Bananach. Since the incident Leslie had been more distant, less willing to be near Irial or Niall. "We need to talk to yo-"

"Mind if we join you, Love?" Irial cut Niall off and moved over to Leslie, he settled just behind her and leaned closer so his mouth was closer to her ear. Idly he kissed along her neck. A low growl rumbled in her chest but she allowed Irial to continue.

"Who am I to say no?" She murmured, whilst flicking a cautious look at Niall who stood, mouth agape, watching as Irial joined Leslie in enjoying the human. Irial, once more a Gancanagh was addictive to humans that meant with only one touch from him Leslie's 'toy' would be hooked.

Why would Irial abandon Niall? Didn't he understand that something was wrong with Leslie? She would never allow herself to hurt a human, after all that was why she had wanted to escape Huntsdale after first of all finding out Niall's true nature. She was scared of losing herself, wasn't she?

"Niall?" Irial questioned, "Are you joining us?" He held out a hand, an invitation to join in on the feeding frenzy that was bound to start as soon as Leslie allowed it.

Would he join them and help Leslie lose herself amongst the Dark Court like she once feared?


	6. Calling Card

**Angelz:...I know, I know I'm crap at updating this thing but the heat wave persists and I've had college intro days and summer work has been assigned, none of which I've done but I'm throwing it in here to use at a later date as an excuse for not updating! So if I start going on about Summer work then leave a snotty review telling me that in order to use that excuse I have to actually do the work..**

**There is good news however! I have changed the plot of this story! Not completely changed but added and tweaked and let me put it this way: I was planning to have it 10,000 words long. To me that was large enough for my first WL fanfiction. Now? I've thinking 15-20,000. All I can say is this: Ohhhh boy, even I'm squirming in my seat for what's going to happen! :D**

**Oh and a few anonymous reviews were left, here's my replies: **

**Ani's Lost Twin: You do know that Iri and Niall used to be a couple right? And that they're Bi? :D**

**Nellie: Thanks for the awesome review! Now, if I told you that it would be cheating ^^ You'll just have to wait and see what Bananach and Leslie have done!**

**To everyone else, ta for all the awesome reviews!**

**Enjoy. **

"Irial, Leslie outside. Now." Niall watched as Irial allowed a slow smile to creep onto his face; the former king shook his head and turned to Leslie.

"What do you think?" He asked.

"I think that we have a perfectly good form of entertainment going to waste." She drawled, "Make it quick." She moved her way through the crowd and towards the door. Niall let out a sigh of relief as Irial followed. Niall grabbed his wrist and stopped him.

"What was that about?" Irial raised on eyebrow.

"What was what about?" He pulled away and continued to the door. Niall followed.

Outside in the corridor the air was cooler, the noise from Leslie's domain blocked. He took a deep breath.

"Leslie, I think we need to talk." She rolled her eyes.

"You've already said that."

"What happened between you and Bananach? We need to know, Leslie." She turned away from Niall and stared at the wall, her whole body tense.

"Nothing." She let out a long breath and turned to face Niall. Her eyes had softened and a small smile pulled at her lips. A glazed look passed over her face and for a brief moment a flicker of temptation ran through her.

"I'm fine, Niall. I'm just," she hesitated for a moment, "_tired_. I just want to try and forget Bananach for tonight; can you let me do that?"

Niall watched her intently, something was off; why was she suddenly sounding like her normal self? Her skin had turned pale, no longer a flushed red from the rush of emotions and her eyes pleaded with him to let the subject drop. Niall hesitated.

"Go have fun, Love." Irial nudged her back to the door, avoiding Niall's gaze until Leslie had slipped inside and shut the door behind her. A hand slammed into his throat the force of the blow sending his back into the wall. Shadows pressed against him in an angry blast, the Abyss Guardians shrieked their rage at the former king.

"_What do you think you're doing?" _Niall hissed. Irial sighed as much as he could with his King's hand firmly wrapped around his windpipe. Tentatively he brought his hand up to peel Niall's fingers away one by one. The Dark King flexed his grip, drawing on his own anger, before he let go. The heavy atmosphere dropped suddenly, all traces of Niall's loss of control gone.

"I'm impressed, a few more seconds of that and I might have thought you would hurt me." Niall spared Irial a withered glance.

"Who says I won't hurt you? You're not invincible, not anymore." Shadows flared to life in Niall's eyes, a flicker of his potential to be the true King of Nightmares showed before it was wiped away. A shudder ran through Irial.

"You should stop holding yourself back, Niall. It's so much more," He paused and caught Niall's eye, "_tantalizing_ when you let it show." Niall didn't pretend to not know what Irial meant.

"Why would I want to tempt you even more?" He rolled his eyes and cast a half-hearted accusing glance at his beloved, "You're distracting me Iri; answer my question." Irial shrugged in a 'You-can't-blame-me-for-trying' gesture.

"Do you honestly think that Leslie will tell us what's wrong? Face it Love, she's never been one to back down. However, if she sees one of us on her side we stand a better chance of finding out what Bananach has done to her. In order to do that she needs to truly believe that I'm on her side; how can we convince her of that unless she sees us fight?" Niall remained silent for a few moments.

"Is there a reason you didn't tell me this plan?"

"Yes." A slight smile.

"Care to share that reason?"

"Not particularly, no." A bigger smile.

"_Iri._" Niall's voice was a growl. Irial laughed and swiftly leaned in, placing a lingering kiss on the corner of his King's mouth.

"Both you and Leslie need a gentle push in the right direction. Get angry more often; it'll do you some good to let your emotions out." Only after those words did he move so his lips no longer brushed against Niall's.

"And what if I don't want to?" Irial took a small pleasure in the hoarseness of Niall's voice.

"I live to serve you, my King. I'd only be too happy to persuade you otherwise."

* * *

"It's unacceptable, Aislinn! They can't expect us to sit back and let them get away with this, we can't." Keenan paced across the loft restlessly, throwing his hands up occasionally in an attempt to expel some of his anger. Birds fluttered around the room before settling near Aislinn, who was clearly the safer option of the two Regents.

"Calm down, Keenan. Leslie didn't mean to start anything, it was my fault for-" Keenan snapped around to face her, blistering heat blasted across the room with the force of a physical blow.

"You did nothing, she was a friend; someone who you should've been able to trust. It is her fault. She should be punished." Aislinn stood up from the sofa, sending the birds who had settled on her shoulder into the air with a few disgruntled squawks, she crossed the space between her and her King. She lay a hand on his shoulder, allowing it to warm the skin beneath it. He looked at her with a level gaze and slowly she saw most of the anger fade from his eyes. He leaned into her touch as she moved her hand to his cheek.

"It could've been you, Ash. She could have hurt you." His eyes shut, his face expressing his obvious pain of the thought. Aislinn had no answer to that. She couldn't lie; it _could_ have been her, Leslie had shown that their past friendship was no longer in play.

"But she didn't, I'm fine." The two stood there, in the middle of their loft with the birds flying around them; softly cooing every few seconds.

"Aislinn?" She took her hand away from Keenan and turned to face Seth. She let out a breath she hadn't realised she'd been holding. That same breath caught, however, when she saw that one of Seth's hands was clutching his side. Blood dripped from inbetween his fingers.

"Seth." Her voice was choked. He gave her a weak smile.

"Should've listened to Irial." He murmured before falling to the floor. Keenan moved towards him and caught him before he hit the floor.

...

A little while later Aislinn was sat by the side of her bed at the loft. Seth lay under the sheets, completely comatose. His chest rose and fell with each breath he took, and with each breath the knot in Aislinn's stomach eased a tiny bit.

A glass appeared before her. She blinked, startled, and tipped her head back to see Keenan stood behind her holding two glasses of Summer Wine; one for him and the other for her.

"You look like you need to relax." She nodded gratefully and took the glass. After she'd taken a few sips Keenan pulled another chair beside her. He straddled it backwards and kept his gaze on Seth as he spoke.

" He's strong enough to survive, thankfully." She turned to face him. "We've never had two injured fey to look after before." He motioned briefly towards the door, indicating to Eliza who was recovering in another part of the loft. Her injuries were bad but it was nothing she wouldn't recover from. She should be glad that Leslie wasn't interested in killing her, or she would be dead. Without a doubt.

_I wonder if Sorcha will hear of Seth's injuries._ Keenan wondered, _from what I've heard she's near obsessive about him as it is. _

He leaned over and took one of Aislinn's hands. He stroked his thumb across her palm soothingly for a few moments, he may not like Seth but it distressed him to see his Queen in so much pain. He'd do what he could to help ease it, well, anything short of telling Aislinn the truth.

Seth wasn't going to wake up. Not unless the one who hurt him came to wake him. Seth would remain in this coma until Bananach herself came to wake him up. How did he know this? He'd caught Seth before he'd fallen to the floor and insisted that he bring Seth into his bedroom to clean his wounds, he'd also insisted that Aislinn go and check on Eliza. During her absence he'd seen the shifting shadows that snaked across Seth's skin, across his injury. The ever shifting shadows had formed one picture and in that single picture Keenan knew that what had happened to Seth would more-to-likely affect the battle of one Faerie who wanted to become Queen, who wanted to drench the world in blood and chaos.

It was a single picture of a bird's feather, midnight black with a single drop of blood rolling off of the end.

She'd found her calling card.

"He'll be fine, right?" Her voice was surprisingly small.

"He'll survive." She didn't seem to notice that he hadn't answered her question; she was too wrapped up in worry to notice him cheat the inability to lie.

One question plagued his mind. What had Bananach done to Seth?


	7. Command me

**Angelz: Well here it is! The next chapter. Thanks to Loony and Agony_Ecstacy and, of course, DarkRedRoses (I told you I would have this up by the time you woke up!) on the Rath and Ruins for encouraging me to finally get this chapter up and done ^^ *huggles* This is, in my opinion, a slower chapter plot wise but next chapter will finally give some answers and you'll know exactly What Bananach has done to Leslie...until then though, enjoy. Oh, and I'll have you all know it's 2:52am. That, my friends, is dedication. **

Seth had left the Crow's Nest once Keenan had insisted they left, he'd parted ways with Aislinn and made his way back to the Dark Court.

Niall had been distracted, a small smile tugged at his lips as he occasionally glanced at Seth with a vacant look in his eyes.

"You look surprisingly happy." Niall's smile grew more pronounced.

"I suppose I am." With a motion of his hand Niall led Seth down the corridor and into his bedroom. He walked over to a large mahogany desk situated against the far corner of the room, opposite the bed. With careless grace he folded himself into a chair. He gestured to a sofa at the end of the bed. Seth sat down.

"How's Leslie?" Niall's contented look darkened. Seth winced and wished he hadn't been so blunt.

"Why that's any business of yours, I'll never know." A dry voice commented from a door that seemed to lead into a bathroom. Irial sauntered into the room wearing nothing but a crisp white towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was wet, dripping water onto the floor as he moved towards a wardrobe and opened it. He clucked his tongue and glanced over at Niall, who was watching him with a strangely attentive look that bordered on affectionate.

"Would it kill you to have some variation in your clothes? We all know that darker colours look good on you but why not branch out?" Niall didn't answer, he merely rolled his eyes and allowed Irial to pluck a shirt from the wardrobe and pull it over his head.

"Leslie's fine. Shaken from her meeting with Bananach but she's trying to put it behind her. I'm giving her some time to recover before probing into any lasting effects. It's no use trying to force an answer of what went on out of her." Irial gave a soft snort, something Niall either didn't hear or chose to ignore.

Seth nodded and made a note to tell Aislinn that Leslie was still fine. He hadn't told her about the encounter with Bananach, it wasn't his place to do so, but knowing Aislinn like he did he knew she would worry about her friend. Maybe he could soothe her with saying that Niall had reassured him of Leslie's well-being.

"Good," Seth hesitated for a few moments aware of Irial's warning glare, "and Bananach?"

"She's been strangely absent, not that I expect her to turn up twice in one day. Keep a look out for her and if you do find her; stay away." Seth nodded.

"If she approaches you make sure you don't back yourself into a corner. Watch the shadows around her, if they start to move then get out of her way. If worse comes to worse and she's trapped you then don't fight. Never fight with War, you'll always lose." Both Niall and Seth were surprised at Irial's advice; it had been no secret that he wasn't exactly keen on Seth.

Seth had left Niall an hour later once it became clear that the Dark King's mind was focused on things other than Seth. Irial being the main distraction. Seth had never seen Niall be so attentive towards the former king, every so often he would throw a look at him and in turn Irial would give a knowing smile causing Niall to glance away.

It was on his way to the loft, on his way to Aislinn, that things started to go downhill.

Bananach had stepped out of the shadows and blocked his path. She watched him silently for a few moments before allowing a smile to break out over her face.

"Dearthár." She drawled, swaying towards him. He didn't ask for a translation, he merely stood there waiting for her to make her move. Irial's warning flashed through his mind. _If worse comes to worse and she's trapped you; don't fight._

Bananach frowned at his silence, clearly not happy with the reaction she was getting. He decided to indulge her.

"Bananach," he acknowledged. "What brings you here?" He made sure to keep from asking her what she wanted, if he did that then who knew what answer the War faerie would give?

"You." She said simply. "I've come to claim my reward."

"Reward for what?"

"I took you to Sorcha, my dearest sister. She in turn changed you so you may be with your beloved. I did not do that for free."

Unease shifted through Seth.

"I won't give you anything. I never agreed to give you anything in return." Bananach sighed and leaned slightly to the left, toward where Seth had come from.

"You do not have a choice in the matter, I have come for my reward and you shall give it to me." She began to close the gap between them and despite the warnings he'd received Seth found himself rapidly backing away from her. Bananach's eyes flared, her pupils dilating slightly as she anticipated a chase.

"You shall not run from me." She hissed.

Pain ripped through him. A force slammed into his mind, knocking him to the ground. He rolled onto his back quickly only barely managing to avoid Bananach's next blow that crashed down where his head was only moments earlier. He scrambled onto his feet and dove to his left, avoiding another blow.

That was where his luck ran out. Another hit made contact. This one sent him to ground, where he stayed as Bananach's hand shot out and ripped into his stomach.

"Why kill me?" He choked on each word but he needed to know.

"Now, who said I will kill you?"

The last thing Seth saw was plummeting shadows and dancing abyss people in her eyes.

* * *

He woke up, his head spinning. Numbly he stood, swaying slightly, and made his way to the Loft. He knew that the Dark Court was closer, that he stood a better chance of being healed quicker if he went to Niall but even in his hazy state he remembered the fond looks the dark king had given Irial and he didn't want to interrupt the growing forgiveness of the two.

_I'm really too nice_, he thought with weak smile.

The trip to the Loft seemed to take hours but finally he stumbled through the door. He saw Keenan and Aislinn, her hand softly cradling his face.

_That can't be good._

"Aislinn?" She turned to face him, her expression caught between the beginnings of guilt and the relief of seeing him, it quickly turned to horror.

_She's seen the blood._

"Should've listened to Irial." And with those words he was dead to the world.

* * *

"Leslie, love, come here a second." Irial motioned his queen over to him with a brief wave of his hand. She stood for a second, hand on hip, and stared at him. Her message was clear; 'I am not your servant, you come to me'. He gave her a sweet smile and with a roll of her eyes she walked over to the sofa he currently lounged on.

"You really are spoilt." She grumbled, taking at seat next to him.

"No, you merely haven't mastered the arrogance of a regent. Next time, command me." The wicked glint in his eye sent delicious shudders through her.

"I'll command you," she murmured leaning into him, "but why wait for next time?" Her hand trailed down his chest, popping the buttons of his shirt as she went and when she reached the end she grabbed a handful of the material and pulled him into her. His smile stayed in place.

The door burst open, the sound causing the couple on the sofa to start, they turned in unison to see Niall storm into the room. A snarl was set onto his face, his anger rolled through the room although neither of the occupants fed off of it; their attention was fixed on the cause of the anger.

"What's wrong?" Niall barely glanced at Leslie as he started to pace.

"Gabriel." He barked. The Hound appeared moments later, sending a quick wink to Leslie in greeting.

"My King?"

"Find Bananach. Now." Irial was beside him in seconds.

"Niall, speak to me." Niall continued to pace, ignoring him. On his third pass by Irial grabbed his arms, spinning him around to face him.

"Speak." He commanded.

"She's injured him. Bananach injured Seth, he's at the Loft with Aislinn and Keenan; unconscious. I want her here, now." Orders appeared on Gabriel's arms, he nodded and turned to leave the room but before he left he gave Irial a look. Irial nodded and he left.

"Calm down. He's alive, is he not?"

"He won't wake up."

"He's recovering."

"She _hurt_ him." Niall snarled, "He's under my courts protection and she injured him."

"She's War, do you expect anything else?" Irial winced, realizing how unsympathetic he sounded. Niall's eyes blazed and Irial contemplated trying to calm him down but hadn't he been the one to tell Niall to embrace his emotions? Suddenly telling him to calm down would be too contradicting, even for the former king.

"He's alive." He repeated, "That's better than most can say after encountering Bananach's wrath." Niall sighed, letting out a long breath.

"I offered him protection, as my brother he shouldn't come under any harm from my court. Like it or not Bananach is part of that court and she should adhere to the rules set by me."

"Do you think bringing her here is wise?" Irial inclined his head slightly towards Leslie, who had taken up the whole sofa to lay on with her eyes closed, one hand hung lazily over the edge. He dropped his voice to a low murmur, "She's finally begun to return to her normal self, an encounter with Bananach might not be the best thing."

Niall watched Leslie, his gaze softening. Irial took advantage.

"Don't tempt fate, love. Keep her away from Leslie."

"Leslie can hear you, you know." Irial flashed another charming smile in her direction.

"Of course you can. Why do you think I only whispered?" She turned her head so he could see her quirked eyebrow.

"Because if you asked to talk to Niall in private, I would get suspicious?"

"Exactly. Whispering gave you the choice to ignore me or get to involved; now that you've decided to get involved I think it's time you told us what happened with you and Bananach. Before she gets here, would be nice."

Leslie shifted so she was sat up and looked between Niall and Irial. After a few thought out moments she began to speak.


	8. Answers

**Angelz: Well, you little leeches here it is: the chapter where everything is explained. At last. I don't know when the next chapter will be posted because I've barely even written it. I'm stressed at the moment, college starts tomorrow and-well I could easily turn this into rant but let's just say I'm stressed, nervous and terrified. I figured I'd post this now because I've had it written for a little while. Enjoy it cause it may be a few weeks before the next chapter comes. Also I'm alittle unsure of how successful this chapter was...it feels lacking to me so opinions would be lovely!**

**Review replies: **

**Ani'sLostTwin: Damn straight it's hot! Welcome to the dark side, we have Niall and Iri ;p Don't worry, I'm still updating it's just going to take a while so bear with me! **

**Nellie: *salutes* Yes ma'm! *writes franticly* ^^**

"And what would that be?" The shadows behind Leslie shifted. Four tendrils of shadows snaked out of the wall and wrapped themselves around her wrists and ankles, preventing her from moving.

How can she do that? The shadows only obeyed the King and Queen of the Dark Court, and, of course, Irial. The former King hadn't lost many of the perks of being King, something Niall was baffled over and yet didn't seem to mind.

"My Court." Bananach lurched towards her.

Leslie's world turned black.

* * *

When she awoke her head was throbbing in a rhythmic beat. Almost like a heart.

"Daughter." A voice drew her attention. Bananach stood tall above her, her head held high and her eyes shining. "Awaken, I have use of you."

Leslie groaned and slowly came to her feet. She swayed slight as an urge to feel blood drain between her fingers slammed into her, nearly knocking her back to the ground. She clenched her eyes shut, suddenly seeing threads. Dark lines that shimmered behind her eyelids and whispered tempting thoughts.

The first vision was of pure carnage. Bodies littered the street, both fey and human, their blood staining every surface they touched. Staining her hands. She breathed in the stench of war itself and almost shivered in pure delight. She wandered the battle field until she came across a group of faces she once knew. Aislinn, Seth, Keenan...Niall and Irial. All bloodied and bruised, no longer breathing. All she felt was pure pleasure at the knowledge that she had caused all of this. Her actions had led to this moment and without her this battleground would not exist.

_No!_ She pushed at the vision, clawing her way through the threads that had suddenly wrapped around her body, trapping her, binding her to their will and forcing her to see what they had to show.

"NO!" She was on the ground, clutching at her head. Even in her bittersweet agony thoughts of pain and chaos whispered sweet, tempting words in her ears begging her to take action. Every violent thought now flowed through her; every slight inclination towards violence was drawn to her.

Bananach laughed. Cackled. Leslie gave in.

She launched herself at Bananach diving nimbly out of the way as she returned the blows. The two almost danced with liquid grace, each one having the knowledge of pure violence and able to predict the others next move. Bananach's laugh still echoed through her head, taunting her with unknown knowledge. She flung her hand forward catching Bananach off guard. Her reward was a hand speckled with blood. She moaned and craved for more.

Vision two hit her so suddenly that she couldn't stop herself falling to the ground. There was blood, of course, but this time there was no battle field no, this time she stood proud in front of the Dark Court as they held multiple mortals in their grasps. Delicious screams rang through the air, a blur of both pain and pleasure.

Her court. She could use them to make these visions come true; to start war, to cause chaos in the mortal world and bring them to their knees. She, and she alone, had that power.

"Not quite." Lazily Leslie looked up at Bananach, who had crouched down to her level in order to take her chin and tilt her gaze upwards.

"What?" What would happen, would it bring much pleasure if she were to throw her hand into Bananach? Would she scream? Yes, War's screams would please her. A tender hand brushed along her face followed by the cooing a mother would give to a small child when they had injured themselves.

"My daughter, focus. You cannot strike me; I can read you like an open book." Bananach paused to stroke Leslie's check with her spare hand again. "I like this though, being free. I can think clearly now without such thoughts bothering me." Her voice was a contented murmur and she stood up and took a few steps away from Leslie.

"You are not fit to lead the Dark Court, not like this. I shall take your place."

"What?" Bananach sighed and swayed towards the shadow globe walls.

"Need I explain everything?" Leslie gave no response so she continued, "We are bound. A bond that nothing can shatter, I can use that bond, Daughter. Whenever you are near I shall change us. All of my violence, my love for chaos will flow from me to you."

"I am still queen." Leslie murmured, trying to ward off another vision of potential wars.

"No, when we change you become unfit to lead the Court. I gain that right." Leslie's head snapped up to look at her.

"That can't be possible."

"But it is." She tried to stand up; a hand grabbed her elbow and pulled her up. She looked at Bananach. The once-war-faerie was staring intently at the walls, looking away from Leslie.

"Your beloved grows impatient." She paused, tilting her head to the side slightly as a smile pulled at her lips. "Your beloved but my King."

Bananach Queen of the Dark Court? She couldn't let that happen, Leslie refused to be used as a pawn in the faerie world. Not again.

"He won't be yours for long. I am his queen. Not you."

"When you are near, I shall be."

"Why tell me? Why would you tell me how to avoid this? All I need to do is stay away from you." Bananach turned to face her then. A strangely tender look crossed her face.

"War is not an easy cross to bear; I do not wish it upon another." She eyed Leslie, "For the first few days I must go slowly to ease the transition, I will allow you to escape during then. I warn you now, Daughter; run for any longer than the first week and I will hunt you."

Leslie began to laugh, bending over with the force of the laughter. Bananach watched her with a curiosity she usually reserved for her battles, a certain fondness briefly touching her features.

Leslie's laughs died down to giggles that shook her whole body, she'd stood up straighter to the point where her hair covered her face. She mumbled something vague about War having a soft side. Bananach sighed softly; clearly her daughter would need more time to adjust to the state of mind brought on from the flow of violence. She watched Leslie for a few moments before she started to lower the barrier surrounding them, she could feel Niall's impatience from the other side. His restlessness from being parted from his second beloved.

_It's strange,_ Bananach mused,_ being connected to him as his Queen. Does he know it is not his Leslie? _

The shadow wall dropped completely.

"Leslie!"


	9. Mistaken

**Angelz: Ack. It's been so long since I updated this but I've had college, been sick all of last week with a throat infection that left me only wanting to lie down and die. So I decided, at 1am, to start writing the next chapter. It soon struck me that I won't be able to keep up the previous length of the chapters without it taking months to do. So this is what's going to happen from now on: I'll write these short, 600 word plus chapters instead of 1700+ ones. This way you'll get a few shorter chapters every two weeks or so instead of one 1700+ one every few months. Sound good? Yeah? Good. (You guys really have no choice in the matter ;p) **

**But there shouldn't be many more chapters to go...I'm getting to the final big plot point. You're all going to hate me for it but, hey, it'll certainly be interesting thats for sure...**

**Enjoy!**

Quiet descended upon the Dark Court as Niall and Irial took in the information.

"She can switch?" Irial murmured to himself. "That...could be a big problem." He glanced at Niall, who was staring at Leslie with a touch of fear in his eyes. With a soft intake of breath Irial reached out to brush his hand across Niall's. His eyes flickered away from Leslie to stare at him. Irial let his hand linger over Niall's unsure of his movements and whether or not he should offer comfort. He could easily tease Niall, tempt him into sharing the same bed, he had no problem doing that but the more tender emotions were still an uneasy topic for the two. Had he earned the right to have that closeness he'd yearned for?

Warmth closed around his hand. Irial looked at Niall's hand on his and then glanced at Niall. He was looking away but his hand tightened around Irial's in a firm grasp.

"Is that all that happened?" Leslie was staring intently out of a nearby window, avoiding anyone's eye.

"Yes." She tilted her head to the side, "Bananach is close. What should I do?" Her gaze turned slightly vacant as she faced Niall.

He floundered for words, opening his mouth and yet not sure what to say. How long could he hide her? She couldn't run forever, Bananach would find her and trouble wouldn't be a word strong enough to describe what they would be in.

"You have one week, a few days remain. It's your choice, Leslie." Irial saved Niall from having to answer. The king gave him a grateful look, still holding onto his hand. Leslie was silent for a few tense moments before she stood up and walked to the window. She turned to face her kings.

"I know what I want to do."

The door opened with a flourish. Stood there geared up in her usual clothing, feather-like hair shimmering down her body was Bananach. Niall didn't miss the look she cast about the room.

"You're Queen is gone." She stated. As if the news wasn't known to Niall already. She tilted her head at his silence. "You already knew?" She made a sound at the back of her throat which could almost be described as surprise if it weren't for the mocking wide eyed innocence she projected.

"I knew. Just as you know why I've called for you." A sigh left her lips.

"The mortal pet."

"Seth."Niall ground out beneath clenched teeth. "The mortal under my protection. You are part of this court, yet you attacked him anyway. Care to explain?"

"Are you giving me the opportunity?" He didn't like the sharpness in her eyes, the cunning that was usually clouded through a haze of visions of war and bloodshed was almost sparkling. He fought to control the rising frustration. In the back of his mind worry for Leslie raged. Had she gotten away fast enough? Thankfully Irial had gone with her and that thought alone comforted him in some ways. Worried him in another. If both of them were attacked...

"You are oddly distracted. Do I bore you?" He pulled his thoughts back to the present only to find Bananach lounging on the sofa only minutes ago occupied by Leslie. She twirled a small item, the bone of an animal perhaps, around her fingers as those might with a pencil when bored.

"No more than usual." He deadpanned. "Don't think I'll let you escape punishment for your actions." He began moving towards her, expecting her to eagerly leap forward and start a fight. When War had broken rules a punishment was difficult to issue, fighting and pain were her vices. She fed eagerly off of them so that route was almost never used as a means of reprimanding her actions. In fact Niall couldn't ever remember a suitable punishment being found for her. Sometimes he had to wonder if she knew just how slippery she could be in times like this, the wicked glint in her eyes told him that yes, she did realise how frustrating it was for him.

"I would never expect otherwise, my king." The distance between them shrank. It was only when he stood an arm's reach away that alarm rang through him. Dark shadows, deep abyss's all swayed within her eyes.

A feral grin splashed across her lips just as Niall realised what was happening. His queen, in that moment, was not Leslie. Bananach's gaze was too focused, too alert.

She had switched.

"My king." She spat. "But not for long."

Pain sliced through him only moments after her arms lashed out towards him. He barely even saw the blade that she held within her clenched fingers. He was a good fighter but the shock of the attack momentarily gave her an advantage which she didn't waste. She followed with several more blows, it was only after the third that he started to fight back. For a few tense moments there was nothing but the swift rustle of movement and the sickening sound of fighting.

"I'm surprised you are not concerned for your beloveds. It was harder than I thought to get to them," She licked the blood from her split lip. "but not impossible. Never that." Her distraction worked. She slammed into him whilst forcing another blade into his stomach. Pain once more blossomed inside him and he fell to his knees. Alarm for what had happened to Leslie and Irial briefly flittered through his mind but quickly one thought consumed all of his worries.

Bananach was, at the moment, a Regent. A ruler of the court fey. An equal to himself. One of the dwindling few who could kill him. He was at her mercy.


End file.
